Cooking and Politics

Quirrell was captured and sent to Azkaban.

In the end, he was abandoned by Voldemort. Before Dumbledore could arrive, Voldemort had already left his body and fled.

What made Quirrell feel most devastated was that there was nothing at the innermost level of the many checkpoints. Dumbledore hadn't put the Philosopher's Stone there at all!

Gemini wasn't too surprised by this. Given Dumbledore's usual behavior, even with a hundred checkpoints surrounding it, he wouldn't feel safe unless he personally intervened.

"Shocking! Facing two Trolls and a Hellhound, this eleven-year-old boy actually did this!"

Two days later, the Daily Prophet published a detailed report on the incident, with a headline that rivaled those of online editors.

Rita Skeeter, author? That explains everything.

That woman's journalistic integrity is about the same as an online editor's.

'Outstanding achievements, powerful strength, handsome appearance, and a mysterious background. This boy shares too many similarities with that unspeakable person. At just eleven years old, he has accomplished feats that many adult wizards cannot—

(Slytherin is his echo chamber—from a Ravenclaw girl who wishes to remain anonymous.)

Many people have expressed strong concerns about Mr. Fox's leadership qualities and outstanding personal charm. We wonder if Dumbledore will inadvertently nurture another dangerous individual—'

Bang!

A newspaper was slammed onto the marble bench next to Gemini. Hermione's face was filled with indignation. "She's spreading rumors!"

Gemini stroked his chin and glanced at the newspaper. "Outstanding... powerful... handsome... I actually think the assessment is quite accurate."

Hermione: "..."

So, you only saw the flattering parts about yourself?

Gemini smiled gently, unbothered by Hermione's righteous indignation.

Leaning back leisurely in his chair, Gemini's gaze fell upon a small beetle on the wall. He rested his chin on his hand and said softly.

"She's not entirely wrong. Although I didn't subjectively intend to do anything, Slytherin has indeed become my echo chamber. If I cough, everyone looks over. Even though I've repeatedly emphasized that I don't like it, they don't seem to listen..."

As he spoke, Gemini looked at Hermione with a gentle smile. "Regarding Miss Skeeter's evaluation of me, there's really nothing wrong with it. As long as it's not baseless rumor-mongering, I can accept it."

Hermione looked at Gemini with concern. "But this will greatly affect your reputation..."

"Some people are destined to become powerful, and the strong never care about the opinions of the weak," Gemini said with a carefree laugh. "This sharp-tongued, sensationalist reporter has managed to stay alive this long not just through petty tricks like buzzing around like a fly. She also possesses good judgment regarding danger. She knows deeply what kind of people she can provoke and what kind she cannot."

"Professor Dumbledore is a man of principle and justice, so she can freely comment on him. She knows that no matter how harsh her words are, Dumbledore won't do anything to her."

"But think about it, does she dare to report on Voldemort?" Gemini smiled slyly.

"Although I won't become like Voldemort, I also won't live my whole life with foolish kindness. The world isn't black and white, where bad people die badly and good people live poorly. No one lives purely. Can you guess who lives the most freely?"

Hermione thought for a moment and hesitantly said, "Those who are neither good nor bad?"

"The ones with the strongest fists," Gemini said, laughing at Hermione's eye-roll.

"People who are not bound by rules and laws live the most freely. To achieve this goal, a person must either possess power themselves or have strength that power cannot restrain. At that point, power will serve that person. So, in the final analysis, the essence of power is violence."

Gemini said this and spread his hands. "Rita Skeeter has described me too perfectly. In essence, I am a rather violent person. Believe me, look at Marcus. If I were truly angered, crushing a small bug would mean nothing to me."

As his words fell, the small beetle on the wall nervously flew away.

Rita Skeeter was not a fool, otherwise, she wouldn't have learned such profound Transfiguration as the Animagus form.

Her skill in transforming into an inconspicuous beetle to gather sensational material was unparalleled, but from Gemini's words, her little trick had been seen through by the young man.

Gemini's previous words were clearly directed at her.

Gemini had practically pointed at her and told her that while he wasn't a bad person, he wasn't a good one either, and if she went too far, he would truly kill her...

"By the way, how did you know it was Quirrell?" Hermione suddenly asked. "Harry and Ron had always thought it was..."

"Professor Snape?"

"Exactly..."

Gemini smiled and spread his hands. "Their suspicion wasn't unreasonable. Anyone could tell he wasn't a good person, and he was always targeting Harry... But if you could see it, how could Dumbledore, who is over a hundred years old, not see it?"

"But even so, he still chose to fully trust Professor Snape. This proves that there must be some factor that allows Dumbledore to trust him unconditionally."

Gemini said this, smiling as he raised a finger. "But this factor is definitely not a vested interest. Relationships maintained by mutual benefit are the most unstable. So, I guess it might be emotional?"

"Snape?"

"Professor! Professor Snape, or you can call him Mr.," Gemini emphasized. "I won't comment on his character, but undoubtedly, he is a very competent professor."

As mentioned before, Snape might have character issues, but his professional competence as a teacher was indeed strong.

And there was another point: he was loyal to Dumbledore.

"Only fools define others by their own senses. I always rely on facts and evidence," Gemini said, spreading his hands.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He doesn't target you, so it's easy for you to say."

"Marcus also targeted me, and you see, I've forgiven him. He was very sincere when he confessed to me last night," Gemini said with a smile.

Hermione: "..."

Are you a devil...

In fact, Gemini was not very satisfied with the outcome of this incident.

Despite Quirrell being apprehended, the Ministry of Magic refused to listen to Dumbledore and Snape's testimonies, firmly believing Quirrell to be a simple-minded thief.

As for Peeves and Snape, who could have served as witnesses, the Ministry claimed that one wasn't even a ghost and the other was tainted by his past as a Death Eater, rendering their testimonies unreliable.

In short, the Ministry's stance at this time was a resolute denial of the fact that Voldemort was still alive.

While this self-deceiving political tactic seemed laughable and absurd, Gemini wasn't surprised. Decades later, the British Prime Minister would even implement herd immunity, making the actions of these Ministry fools seem rather clever by comparison. At the very least, they hadn't caused panic and unrest in the wizarding world, had they?

Gemini had lived in Britain for many years and understood the country quite well.

It seemed to him that the British were worst at two things: cooking and politics.